A first report of Sphenothallus Hall, 1847 in the Cambrian of Variscan Europe

Ten specimens of two phosphatic fossils have been recently discovered in lower and middle portions of Middle Cambrian Jince Formation in the Czech Republic. They are attributed to the genus Sphenothallus Hall, 1847 and described as two separate species; comparatively small conchs are described as S. kozaki sp. nov., the much larger specimens characterized by its smooth and partly flexible organo-phosphatic walls of shell are determined as ?S. kordulei sp. nov. Sphenothallus is known to range from Cambrian to Permian and accommodates numerous species. However, its Cambrian distribution is considerably restricted. Generally rare specimens have been described from Lower to Middle Cambrian of Laurentia and from the Lower Cambrian of Gondwana and peri-Gondwana. The new record of Sphenothallus from the Jince Biota represents a notable extension of their geographic range.     

Family Dibrachicystidae (Echinodermata: Rhombifera) from the “Middle” Cambrian of the Barrandian area,Czech Republic

A slightly crushed but otherwise nearly complete specimen of the recently described rhombiferan echinoderm genus Vizcainoia Zamora and Smith, 2012 is documented from the “Middle” Cambrian Jince Formation of the P?íbram–Jince Basin of the Czech Republic. Isolated thecal plates, earlier determined as calyx plates of the eocrinoid Acanthocystites briareus Barrande, 1887 and/or as eocrinoid sp., occurring in diverse levels of the Jince Formation are reassigned to Dibrachicystidae gen. et sp. indet. Similarly, isolated thecal plates collected from the Buchava Formation of the Skryje–Tý?ovice Basin could be classified as Dibrachicystidae gen. et sp. indet. Specimens from the Barrandian area are the first records of the family Dibrachicystidae outside of southwestern Europe, of the family otherwise known only from the Languedocian of Montagne Noire of France and from the Caesaraugustian and Languedocian of Iberian Chains of northern Spain.     

Deep-water brachiopod assemblage from the Middle Miocene of Kralice nad Oslavou,Moravia, southeastern Czech Republic

Eight brachiopod species, i.e. Novocrania sp., Cryptopora lovisati (Dreger, 1911), “Terebratula” sp., Megathiris detruncata (Gmelin, 1791), Argyrotheca cuneata (Risso, 1826), Joania cordata (Risso, 1826), Megerlia truncata (Linnaeus, 1767), and Platidia anomioides (Scacchi and Philippi, 1844), have been identified in the Middle Miocene deposits of Kralice nad Oslavou, Moravia, Czech Republic. The species C. lovisati and P. anomioides dominate the studied assemblage, while others are very rare. Novocrania, C. lovisati and M. truncata are reported for the first time from the Moravian part of the Carpathian Foredeep. In species composition, the assemblage from Kralice resembles other Middle Miocene Paratehyan assemblages, interpreted as shallow water, but the dominance of C. lovisati and P. anomioides makes it clearly different, indicating an environment deeper than 100 m.     

Middle Cambrian pterobranchs and the Question: What is a graptolite?

The presence of distinct fusellar structure is taken as evidence to include a number of fossils from the Middle Cambrian to the Lower Ordovician of North America and Europe with the Pterobranchia. The dome of the pterobranchs and the prosicula of the planktic graptolites are contrasted and evidence is given for the re‐assignment of a number of well known dendroid graptolites to the pterobranchs. A non‐destructive method is described to reveal fusellar development of delicate hemichordate exoskeletons from shales. Rhabdotubus robustus n. sp. from the Czech Republic and ? Cephalodiscus sp. from the Wheeler Shale of North America are described as new Middle Cambrian pterobranchs.     

Diptera associated with sporocarps of Meripilus giganteus in an urban habitat

The Diptera community associated with fruit bodies of the wood-decaying fungus Meripilus giganteus (Pers.) P. Karst., 1882 was investigated in two city parks in Opava (Czech Republic, Central Europe) during the years 2009 and 2010. A total of 10,451 adult specimens of Diptera belonging to 66 species and 17 families emerged from this fungus during our rearing experiments. The six most dominant species, Coboldia fuscipes (Meigen, 1830) (D=50.70%), Drosophila funebris (Fabricius, 1787) (D=21.40%), Logima satchelli (Quate, 1955) (D =14.16%), Forcipomyia squamigera Kieffer, 1916 (D=5.48%), Lycoriella ingenua (Dufour, 1839) (D=2.96%) and Apteromyia claviventris (Strobl, 1909) (D=0.95%) represented 95.65% of all reared specimens. Altogether 59 species were reared from M. giganteus for the first time. Comments on host specialization, degree of synynthropy and other aspects of biology of particular species are provided. The qualitative composition of the fly community associated with M. giganteus in an urban habitat, causes of high species richness, and the predominance of polysaprophagous species in the reared material are discussed. The accidentally reared {itOrnitholeria nidicola} Frey, 1930 (Chiropteromyzidae) represents the first family record from the Czech Republic and the first record of the species from Central Europe.     

Redescription of Petasiger exaeretus Dietz, 1909 and P. phalacrocoracis (Yamaguti, 1939) (Trematoda: Echinostomatidae), parasites of cormorants

Two echinostome trematodes of the genus Petasiger, P. exaeretus Dietz, 1909 and P. phalacrocoracis (Yamaguti, 1939), parasitising cormorants (Phalacrocoracidae), were found in Phalacrocorax carbo L. from the Czech Republic. Both taxa are redescribed and literary data on their occurence in cormorants are reviewed. The species P. exaeretus appears to be a rather rare species, hitherto recorded in Phalacrocorax carbo in Europe, Kirghizia and Azerbaidzhan. P. baschkirovi Ablassov & Iksanov, 1959 is synonymized with P. exaeretus. P. phalacrocoracis (syn. P. hospitale (Mendheim, 1940) and P. exaeretus auct. nec Dietz, 1909), which has previously been misidentified and erroneously designated as P. exaeretus, appears to be the commonest species of the genus, parasitising cormorants in the Palaearctic Region (Europe, CIS [USSR], Japan) and in Australia. Differential diagnoses of both the above mentioned species are presented.     

New information on the invasive to Europe aphid species <Emphasis Type="Italic">Brachycaudus divaricatae</Emphasis> Shaposhnikov, 1956 (Hemiptera: Aphididae)

Brachycaudus divaricatae (Hemiptera: Aphididae), a recent invader to Europe, has already reached Czech Republic. Partial sequences of mitochondrial COI and nuclear EF-1α genes have been analysed across the sixteen Czech samples of B. divaricatae, together with morphometric analysis of the same samples based on eighteen morphological characters of the apterous viviparous females. For comparative studies, thirteen samples from the Eastern Baltic region of Europe (Latvia, Lithuania and Poland) were used. All sampled populations appeared similar in their genetic and morphological characters studied. One haplotype of mitochondrial COI gene was predominant; it was characteristic for all samples from Czech Republic and 8 out of 13 samples from Eastern Baltic region. Two other haplotypes were found in the Eastern Baltic region only. Four different haplotypes of EF-1α gene were detected. Most of the samples (except one sample from the Eastern Baltic region and two samples from Czech Republic) had the same haplotype. Out of remaining three haplotypes, one was unique for the Eastern Baltic region, whilst two were found in Czech Republic only. For the present, Moravia is the southernmost region in Europe, where B. divaricatae has been already reported. Presumably, this invasive aphid species has entered the Czech Republic from the north via the Moravian Gate, a natural pass formed by the depression between the Western Carpathians and Eastern Sudetes.     

Slapylitidae: a new family of hyolithids (Cambrian–?Devonian; Baltica,Laurentia, Gondwana)

Hyoliths are usually preserved as isolated skeletal elements consisting of conch, operculum, and helens. The occurrence of a conch associated with an operculum is ordinarily exceptional, and the co-occurrence of helens with other skeletal parts is a great rarity. The extraordinary finds of hyolithid conchs associated with opercula in situ are relatively abundant in the Cambrian and Ordovician clastic sediments of the Barrandian area in the Czech Republic. The platyclaviculate operculum with clavicles divided by longitudinal walls into channels characterizes members of the newly established family Slapylitidae fam. nov., which includes two genera: Slapylites Marek, 1980 known from the mid-Cambrian of West Gondwana and Baltica and Nevadalites Marek, 1976 documented from the Late Cambrian of Laurentia. To this family most probably belongs also an operculum from the Cambrian Series 2–Series 3 boundary of North Greenland and poorly known material from the Middle Devonian of Bolivia.     

Ladinian radiolarian fauna from West Sichuan, China

A poorly preserved, but diversified radiolarian fauna was recovered from thin-bedded cherts occurring in the southeast of Daofu, Sichuan Province, southwestern China. Twenty-two radiolarian species belonging to 10 genera are identified and three new species (Paroertlispongus daofuensis n. sp., Falcispongus heinzi n. sp., Falcispongus pauliani n. sp.) are described. Falcispongus heinzi represents a transitional species between genera Oertlispongus inaequispinosus Dumitrica, Kozur and Mostler and Falcispongus Dumitrica. The fauna is divided into two assemblages, namely Muelleritortis cochleata and Oertlispongus inaequispinosus assemblages, which can be well correlated with the Ladinian radiolarian zones from Europe. The fauna indicates that basaltic rocks occurring in the Xianshuihe Belt were formed mainly during the Middle Triassic. Our results thus extend the previously known geological age of the Xianshuihe Belt to the Middle and Late Triassic interval.     

AN ATLANTIC MIDDLE CAMBRIAN FAUNA FROM NORTH GREENLAND

A late Middle Cambrian fauna from Nyeboe Land, North Greenland, is described. It is demonstrated that the fauna, dominated by agnostid trilobites, belongs to the Atlantic province. The samples indicate the presence of the zones of Ptychagnostus punctuosus and Jincella brachymetopa. The distribution of the Middle Cambrian faunas is briefly discussed.     

Xylosandrus germanus in Central Europe: Spread into and within the Czech Republic

Invasive organisms represent great threats to ecosystems and great challenges to forest management. In Europe, the black timber bark beetle (Xylosandrus germanus) is an invasive secondary pest that mostly attacks the logs of felled trees. We showed the invasion history for Europe and using many local surveys, we summarize the current distribution and other available information on X. germanus in the Czech Republic. We report that this species is distributed from the lowlands to the mountains in the Czech Republic; it is widespread in the eastern half of the country, where it is more abundant in the warmer south and southeast areas than in the cooler areas. Most (78%) of the known localities are at elevation below 400 m a.s.l. Although an ice storm greatly increased X. germanus abundance near the border with Austria, its high abundance did not result in damage to standing trees. Presence of X. germanus in the Czech Republic for over 10 years has not led to heavy tree infestation.     

THE DISTRIBUTION,ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATIONAL STATUS OF THE LICHEN GENUS BIATORA IN CENTRAL EUROPE

Abstract: The genus Biatora is still undercollected in many parts of its distributional range. On the basis of recent collections made by the authors and additional herbarium material not studied previously, more detailed statements on the ecology, distribution and conservational status of Biatora species in Central Europe are possible. Distribution maps are provided for B. fallax , B. mendax , B. ocelliformis , B. rufidula , B. sphaeroidiza , and B. vernalis . Biatora species are almost exclusively non-saxicolous and, in general, prefer humid habitats. Many species are chionophilous and extremely shade-tolerant. Three main distributional patterns can be observed: (sub-)arctic-alpine species, sub-oceanic-montane species, and species of montane coniferous or mixed coniferous forests. Biatora efflorescens , B. flavopunctata and B. subduplex are relatively frequent species and are not threatened. Biatora rufidula and B. vacciniicola must be regarded as extinct in Central Europe. The following species are reported for the first time from the respective countries: B. chrysantha from Romania, B. efflorescens from Romania and Ukraine, B. fallax from Austria and Ukraine,B. mendax from the Czech Republic, B. ocelliformis from Romania, and B. sphaeroidiza from Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic and Romania.     

First African oryctocephalid trilobites from the Lower–Middle Cambrian boundary interval

Oryctocephalid trilobites from Lower Middle Cambrian strata of the eastern Anti-Atlas, Morocco, are the first described Oryctocephalidae known from Africa. They represent the new genus and species Shergoldiella vincenti. However, a similar species was earlier described as Tonkinella sequei Liñán et Gozalo, 1999, from coeval lower Middle Cambrian strata of the Iberian Chains, northern Spain. This Iberian species is imperfectly preserved and assigned herein to Shergoldiella with reservations. If this assignment is correct, it would reinforce earlier suggested correlations between Morocco and Spain. Nevertheless, Shergoldiella suggests a morphocline from a typical oryctocephalid-type morphology towards the Tonkinella-type morphology. Close similarity with Ovatoryctocara ovata suggests a similar stratigraphic position in accordance with earlier suggested intercontinental correlations.     

The genetic structure of raccoon introduced in Central Europe reflects multiple invasion pathways

Invasions of non-native species are of great concern as they have a devastating impact on native biodiversity and can also affect the economy of a region. Multiple introductions in several locations of a new range greatly promote the success of non-native species. The raccoon (Procyon lotor) is an omnivore whose native distribution extends from southern Canada to Panama. It has been successfully introduced in many European countries. We examined the microsatellite and mitochondrial diversity of raccoon populations in Central Europe (Germany, Poland, and Czech Republic) in order to determine their introduction sources and pathways as well as the factors affecting genetic structure in this invasive species. We found low diversity of the mtDNA control region and moderate diversity of microsatellite markers. Raccoon showed three hierarchic levels of genetic structure which separate at different levels sampled from Czech Republic, Germany and raccoon inhabiting two different habitats in Poland. In Poland the raccoon population was established through migration from Germany to Czech Republic. Analysis of the intensity of migration between two different habitat types indicated source-sink dynamics in the Polish populations of raccoons. Our results confirm the high intensity of the raccoon invasion in Central Europe and point to specific measures needed as part of an effective management strategy.     

New distributional data and an updated and commented list of Czech and Slovak Sarcophagidae (Diptera)

Based on a revision of large recent collections housed by Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Masaryk University, Brno, and in the private collection of Yu. Verves (Kyiv, Ukraine), new distributional data and an updated and commented list of Czech and Slovak Sarcophagidae are presented. The following six species are firstly recorded from the Czech Republic: Macronychia (s. str.) substriginervis Verves & Khrokalo, 2006, Paragusia multipunctata (Rondani, 1859), Oebalia praeclusa (Pandellé, 1895), Nyctia lugubris (Macquart, 1843), Blaesoxipha dupuisi Léonide & Léonide, 1973, and B. grylloctona Loew, 1861. As a result, 143 species of the family Sarcophagidae are currently known from the Czech Republic (109 from Bohemia and 129 from Moravia), and 131 species are known from Slovakia.     

The updated check list of Dolichopodidae (Diptera) of the Czech Republic and Slovakia: Background information,data and considerations

The 1997 check list of Dolichopodidae of the Czech Republic and Slovakia has recently been reviewed and updated. The new species list includes 346 species with 22 species added as new to the fauna of the Czech Republic. While the check list itself is published elsewhere, largely unpublished new records of Hercostomus argentifrons, H. nigrilamellatus, Medetera adjaniae, M. melancholica and M. setiventris are presented here, together with data on their distribution in Europe and their biology and ecology. The status of the newly added Sympycnus desoutteri is discussed. H. argentifrons is recorded here for the first time from the Czech Republic (Bohemia; Moravia) and background information is given on its discovery. While the Czech fauna with 324 species can be considered well known, the fauna of Slovakia is definitely much richer than its current national list of 217 species suggests. In the latter country, in particular surveys of sandy habitats with heathland or peatmoor, saltmarshes, reedmarshes, humid forests on loamy soils, and of rothole and saprun microhabitats on trees might quickly yield new species records.     

Grasshoppers and bushcrickets regionally extinct in the Czech Republic: consequence of the disappearance of habitats scattered on the edge of their ranges

According to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, taxa extinct within a region but extant in other parts of the world should be classified as Regionally Extinct (RE). A taxon is designated RE when there is no reasonable doubt that the last individual capable of reproduction within a region has died or disappeared. A taxon can also be designated RE if it previously but no longer visited a particular region. The species Arcyptera fusca, Arcyptera microptera, Celes variabilis, Gampsocleis glabra, Locusta migratoria, Oedaleus decorus, and Stenobothrus rubicundulus had previously been found in only a small number of localities in the Czech Republic. We studied localities in the Czech Republic where they had been been previously reported but where their occurences had not been recently confirmed; the last specimens were observed in the 1940, 1960, or 1970s. All these species occurred at Czech localities representing borderline areas for such sub-Mediterranean and mountainous (Carpathian) species. The localities therefore had not offered optimal conditions for these insects, and the suitable biotopes were also scattered and isolated from each other. In most cases, these biotopes had disappeared due to change in management (either to natural or artificial forestation). Although certain of these species are excellent flyers (especially O. decorus), the known recent localities are separated by hundreds of kilometers. Based on our failure to find these species after extensive attempts, we conclude that discussed species should be considered regionally extinct in the Czech Republic. These species are of particularly vulnerable vegetation structures. The loss of these species indicate urgency for assessing status of co-occuring taxa.